Google has appointed John Krafcik as CEO to spearhead its self-driving car project.
The company launched the project in 2009 with plans to introduce self-driving cars by 2020.
Google has been testing its self-driving cars on public roads in the US states of California and Texas.
With maximum speeds of 25 mph in self-driving mode, the cars are also equipped with a removable steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedals that can allow the driver to take control.
Krafcik will join the project later this month. He is the former head of Hyundai’s US operations, and was most recently the president of TrueCar, an automotive pricing and information website.
Krafcik said: "This is a great opportunity to help Google develop the enormous potential of self-driving cars.
"This technology can save thousands of lives, give millions of people greater mobility, and free us from a lot of the things we find frustrating about driving today."
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Google said: "We’re feeling good about our progress, so now we’re investing in building out a team that can help us bring this technology to its full potential.
"John’s combination of technical expertise and auto industry experience will be particularly valuable as we collaborate with many different partners to achieve our goal of transforming mobility for millions of people."
Google is not planning to manufacture the cars itself and intends to collaborate with automakers to develop the technology.
